removing the plug...

I cover the cockpit with a good tarp I have and I also open the hatches. The problem here in the desert is that wasps will move in to open hatches, so I open them and then cover them with this woven outdoor shade material so none can find their way in. I also have to cover the bilge plug hole...boy would the wasps go for that!
The plug I have does not have a way to clip something to it for hanging. Did you drill a hole through yours? Mine is not the standard type of plug I used to use on other boats I have had (the kind that has a little handle). Mine is actually a sort of little bolt. I have 2 extras that I keep on the boat.

I tried raising the tongue to get an incline on the boat so anything in the bilge can find its way out, but I can't get it high enough. I think I am going to have to put it back on the truck hitch and put something under the hitch foot so that when I remove it from the truck hitch it will be at enough of an angle to do the trick.

I have been looking at getting an electric jack. I found one at Overton's but it is rated for 1500 pounds. I suspect that is not near enough. Any thoughts?

Amanda
I really enjoy talking with you guys.
 
When I bought my first 22' fourteen years ago, it had a flapper kind of plug in it. I never trusted it with no good reason to support my feelngs. The thing had a split slender duck bill kind of thing protruding past the hull. Does anyone have experience with that kind of plug? John
 
Yellowstone":oyemi3gs said:
When I bought my first 22' fourteen years ago, it had a flapper kind of plug in it. I never trusted it with no good reason to support my feelngs. The thing had a split slender duck bill kind of thing protruding past the hull. Does anyone have experience with that kind of plug? John
Click to expand...

John-

I got one with my boat, too, when I bought it!

Same reaction and thinking, here!

Not sure what I did with it, will have to check if I still have it!

I don't see them in catalogues, anymore, either.

"If you build a better mouse trap, and the world doesn't trust it, you can....uh...

use it like a giant paper clip to keep your unpaid bills together!" :lol:

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
RE the electric jack from Overton's.

If it's rated for 1500# that is probably well over what is actually needed (but that doesn't hurt anything in this case).

Trailer manufacturer's and boat dealers usually try to have about 10% of the overall trailer load on the hitch. This seems to give a good, non-swaying ride. (Less than that and driver's will find their trailer swaying, sometimes dangerously.) Since you've trailered a good bit, I suspect your trailer is properly fit to your boat, and the trailer weight is probably just fine. All this is a round about way of saying - I suspect the Overton electric jack would work just fine.

Best,
Casey
 
Casey and Chuck:
You are indicating that I don't need to purchase a jack rated at 1500 pounds. The other jack listed at Overton's is for 1000 pounds. Does that seem do-able to you guys?
Thanks for the info.
Amanda
 
Yes.

Your boat probably weighs in the vicinity of 5000# (including the trailer) the 10% tongue weight should be around 500#; well below the 1000# jack rating.

If you get an electric jack for the trailer you will need a power source. I think you'd want to have someone who does that sort of thing wire it for you. He/she will probably run a pigtail off the plug for the trailer wiring.

Good luck!

Best,
Casey
 
Not Casey or Chuck here, but for me it would probably due the trick, although I tend to like both a belt and suspenders, or glue and screws, so I would probably opt for the 1500 pounder, and consider the extra margin as safety margin.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Casey":1bagxowi said:
Yes.

Your boat probably weighs in the vicinity of 5000# (including the trailer) the 10% tongue weight should be around 500#; well below the 1000# jack rating.

If you get an electric jack for the trailer you will need a power source. I think you'd want to have someone who does that sort of thing wire it for you. He/she will probably run a pigtail off the plug for the trailer wiring.

Good luck!

Best,
Casey
Click to expand...

Would think that the trailer wiring is fused well below what an electric jack will pull. Wiring should probably come directly from the battery.

Charlie
 
This sounds good to me. According to the information on the jack from Overton's, the jack plugs right into the same place your trailer lights use with the same type of plug. If it doesn't, I will send it back and use my back (probably good for me anyway...)
Thanks for the help.
Amanda
 
I had the drain plug removed from Shearwater when the transom was redone. The original "cruise ship" does not have a bilge to speak of so I elected to remove, never used the plug in 6 years and don't miss it now that it is gone. It's easy to bail what water gets into the center fish locker that once held the plug and the deck lockers are not joined on the original 25's. Personally I think the new 25 bilge design is cost driven and not a improved design over the original. What water does get into the lockers is isolated to the locker and not allowed to slosh around under the deck. Easy to dry things out with a few minutes of work and no trapped water.

stevej
 
Here are two of many lessons to be learned by trying to launch without the plug being in:

Portable DVD players don't float

Automatic inflating life vests do inflate as designed
 
Steve
I hope you are right and the amount of water that may get in is no big deal. I found some water frozen this morning around my automatic bilge pump in the hatch at the rear of the cockpit. I was not happy. I don't know what damage it may cause. I put a sponge on it in hopes it will thaw enough to get soaked up today. We are expected to have another night of temperatures in the low 20s. By Thursday it is supposed to get up to 78 degrees with lows in the 50s. That should go on for a few days. Hopefully I can get the excess water soaked up before another freeze. Of course I am crossing my fingers that nothing was damaged, and your information about the bilge and the plug gives me hope that I have not done any damage through ignorance.
Lloyds: I hope I never experience anything like what you describe. I will find a way to display the plug within my sight so that I do not ever forget it. Thanks for the lesson.
Amanda
 
Amanda,

Hope this is in time ----- Add some heat. :hot :idea A portable hair dryer, or a small ceramic heater, to warm the area where that water is and then soak it up.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Amanda, the original "cruise ship" 95/96 era has a different deck than the new run of 25's. Below is the best picture I have.

IMG_0823.sized.jpg

View from the cabin door.
Two side lockers between a large "fish locker" that had a drain plug prior to the transom rebuild. The forward locker (back most halibut is on top of) holds batteries and gas tank access. The main difference from a design perspective is that there is not a connection between lockers for water to flow. Any water that gets into a locker stays in that locker, as poorly as the hatches seal there are some some advantages to containment. In my case the back hatches leak like a sive under the right conditions but it's a simple job to bail and remove all the water from each one. The battery locker actually seals well, doubt that I get more than a cup of water over a six month period.

Sorry for the confusion, not sure if you can contain the bilge water flow with the new below deck design.

Stevej

stevej
 
I have a hatch on either side of the rear cockpit which contains the batteries and water tank, plus there is circular access in between each hatch that contains the bilge pump. The bilge pump sits in a little hole and right in front of that hole is another hole where water is coming from. The frozen water at the moment is in the recess surrounding the bilge pump. The ice had plenty of room to expand, so I am thinking maybe no damage. I do not have access to electricity for this boat unless I take it to a campground or RV park and plug it in, so I guess I need to find a little battery operated something-or-other that will put some heat down there. I thought about those "toastie" thingys I often used when I took my pontoon boat to Lake Powell in December. They are little packets you activate and then put in your shoes or pocket to keep your extremities warm. I just don't know if they will work on an inorganic substance. I will dig them out and see.
Geez those are big fish!!!
Amanda
 
Hi Amanda,

I keep my boat in the water year-round here in Annapolis. I always have a small amount water in the bilge but have learned to live with it. It does get pretty yucky down there, so whenever I can I air out the hatches.

Sometimes in the coldest part of the winter the water freezes in the bilge and the bilge pump won't work. I tried to run it once unaware of the ice and almost burned out the motor. I do my best to remove the ice, but haven't found a good solution to keeping regular heat in the area. I thought that something like an aquarium heater might work but haven't been able to find anything that will work on 12 volts.

I don't believe there has been any damage as a result of the ice.

Dick
 
I am so glad to hear you have not had damage even with a frozen bilge.
I have asked my brother to put in an electric plug for me where my boat is stored. The electricity is already there as it is used to run the well pump. I figure maybe I can use a heating pad or something similar in the future. Hopefully he will accomplish the task shortly before the next freeze is upon us. Still, it is a relief to know that your boat has handled the freezing elements. After all, these boats were designed to handle the rough weather of really cold country.
Thanks for the information.
Amanda
 
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